


Unyielding

by thegreatstoryteller



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cute, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Kissing, Romance, two people who are too stubborn to accept feelings other than hatred for one another
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-13
Updated: 2019-03-13
Packaged: 2019-11-17 14:43:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18100568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thegreatstoryteller/pseuds/thegreatstoryteller
Summary: Hermione enjoys spending her weekends in her secret hideaway. It's a place where her friends can't find her and she can have some real peace and quiet. At least, it was until Draco Malfoy strolled through and ruined her day.





	Unyielding

It had begun on a Saturday, as normal as those preceding it. Hermione had gotten up at a reasonable time, unlike her dormmates who would waste away the beautiful early Autumn day sleeping until noon. She showered dressed and made her way down to breakfast. Only about a dozen other students were there, mostly Ravenclaws.

“Morning, Luna,” She said as she passed by the younger student.

“Good morning, Hermione,” Luna replied in her sweet airy voice.

Hermione sat down and picked out a few ripe fruits to eat and a crispy piece of bacon. She pulled a book from her bag and ate absentmindedly as she started reading the table of contents for the newer Transfiguration book. She’d gotten it from the library a few days prior, but this was the first chance she’d actually had to read it.

An hour later a few more Gryffindors had dragged themselves down for breakfast, Hermione ate and chatted with Fred and George for a few minutes before leaving them behind and heading out into the courtyard. 

It honestly was a beautiful day. The warm summer weather hung tight even though it was the end of September and they’d inched into Autumn. Hermione may have been a bookworm, but that didn’t mean it had to exclude her from appreciating an unusually warm day. She walked with purpose down to the Black Lake and to the willow tree planted on its northern edge.

“The library may be wonderful, but so too is this beauty, it can’t compare,” Hermione said to herself as she drew closer. 

This tree was majestic and far less impish and aggressive than the one planted closer to the school. Hermione parted the elongated leaves and stepped inside the inner circle of the tree branches. The canopy parted perfectly. If she sat down against the lake-facing side of the trunk she had a mostly unobstructed view of the water. Added bonus, the leaves kept those walking the grounds from seeing her, unless they were rowing a boat on the water directly in front of her.

Hermione grinned and started reading. There were no interruptions her, no one asking for help on their homework. No one (Ron), sneakily acting more of a buffoon than he really was to convince Hermione to do his homework. She shook his head. They couldn’t rely on her to do all of their work, if they didn’t do it, they’d never learn. Part of her felt guilty for abandoning people in need, but the other told her to worry more about herself.

O.W.L.’s were this year and Hermione had to focus. Distractions were not going to be tolerated. If that meant a bit more solitary confinement from her friends, so be it. They thought she would be in the library, and she wasn’t going to correct them. If they did make the effort to try and find her in the library and couldn’t locate her,  _ then _ she’d deal with them. She wasn’t going to tell them where she actually been spending her time, but she’d think of something if the question was proposed to her. This was her secret hideaway and she wasn’t giving it up.

On cue, the sound of footsteps came into earshot.

Hermione didn’t worry at first, Hagrid came by often enough to walk some of his creatures. The footsteps weren’t heavy enough to be his. Hermione sat up straighter but didn’t outwardly worry. Students came by rarely, but didn’t stay long. Then a familiar face popped through the leaves.

Draco Malfoy stopped dead at the sight of Hermione Granger sitting on the grass in front of him. The two blinked owlishly at one another. The unexpected encounter left them both at a loss for words. Hermione was the first to recover from the shock.

She scoffed and said clearly and crisply. “What do you want, Malfoy? I’m busy.”

Draco’s owlish looked changed to a scowl. “It doesn’t matter what I’m doing her Granger, this is my tree, you need to leave,” He ordered.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. “I was here first, my right to the spot outweighs yours.”

“I’ve been coming here for years,” Draco said. “If you want to argue that point I’m confident this was my spot first.”

Hermione was not giving up that easily. This was her tree and she would fight like hell for it. Hermione turned up her nose. “If this is your spot, how come I’ve never seen you here?” She questioned. “I’ve come here every Saturday and Sunday since last spring, but I’ve never once seen you.”

Malfoy rolled his eyes. “If you’re only here this time of the day, then that’s why. I never come this early, it’s usually only in the afternoon’s when I can shake the rest of those gits.”

“Since when are your Slytherin ‘tag-alongs’, gits?” Hermione asked amused. Not all in Malfoy’s world seemed to be going smoothly, which made her undeniably happy.

“None of your business, Granger,” He shot back. “Now get out of here!”

“No,” She said standing up. It was easier to argue when you weren’t sitting on the ground being towered over by an increasingly annoying ferret. “If you want to leave that’s fine, but if I leave I’m going to tell everyone about this spot and then we’ll both lose it,” She threatened. Malfoy’s eyes narrowed.

Hermione wondered if he thought it was a bluff. He’d be sorely mistaken if he did. If she lost this spot, so did he.

Malfoy growled and threw his hands up in frustration. “Dammit, Granger! I just wanted to escape those barmy morons and here you are ruining my day.” Hermione smirked. It wasn’t her intention to ruin his day, but it was a nice consolation prize to having her reading time interrupted. Malfoy stood there silently steaming and Hermione hoped he’d run along and leave her in peace, but there he continued to stand. 

Hermione huffed and rolled her eyes. “I’m not leaving,” She told him. “But, if you want to stay, I won’t bother you,” She finished talking, sat down, and went back to reading. She read through half a page before realizing Malfoy was still standing there in mild confusion. She huffed again. “Sit down, or leave,” She told him sharply.

Malfoy groaned and sat down with his back against the tree trunk. He sat to Hermione's left, entirely too close in her opinion. Though she did admit, to herself not to him, Malfoy smelled rather good. A bit like clean linens, sweat, with a hint of minty toothpaste. It was distracting. Her inviting him to sit was suppose to stop the distracting. Now it was getting worse. Even more distracting was the fact that he wasn’t doing anything. Not reading, not working on homework, he was just sitting there looking at his hands!

Hermione closed her book with a resounding  _ snap! _ And turned to Malfoy with a glare. He looked over to her bewildered by the sudden noise and change in behavior.

“What, Granger?” he asked.

“You’re just sitting there, aren’t you going to do anything?” She asked.

“Hadn’t planned on it,” he told her with a shake of his head. “I usually just come here for the quiet, not to study or  _ whatever _ you do,” He said, circling his hands in what clearly was supposed to represent the ‘whatever’ it was that she did. Hermione huffed and turned back to look out at the lake.

She and Malfoy sat in silence again for a few minutes. Hermione hoped that if she were boring enough he’d leave and she could return to intellectual bliss with her book. Those fantastic thoughts were interrupted, again, but this time by an unexpected request.

“So, you wanna make out?”

“What!” Had he lost his mind! “What is bloody wrong with you, did someone cuff you on the head today?” Hermione asked disgusted and confused. Was he joking? He must have been. He couldn’t be serious.

“Hey, my bad,” He said with a smirk. “Thought I could liven up your boring day.” He said it like a cruel joke, but the normal fire and malice didn’t reach up into his sad gray eyes. Hermione paused. Was he serious? Or, was this a bluff? A devious idea came to Hermione.

“Alright,” She told him simply. Hermione hadn’t believed it was possible for a person to go so bugged eyed. Which was quickly covered up and slotted behind a thick mask of indifference.

Malfoy looked down nonchalantly at his fingernails and seemed uncaring of the increasingly unrealistic and laughable situation. He smirked and said, “Good to know you can recognize a prime opportunity when it’s offered.” There was an underlying almost unhearable edge of nervousness to his voice.

He was bluffing and Hermione knew it. There was no way he’d kiss a ‘mudblood’ like her. He was Draco Malfoy! The only way he’d ever willing kiss her was if the choice was between her or a dementor.

Hermione scooted closer to him, and Malfoy on his end did his best not to shrink back away from her. He was not getting called out for bluffing, Granger would bust before he did. He was a Slytherin, he was cunning and this would be his greatest achievement to date-tricking the Gryffindor lioness into almost kissing him. He’d stop before it actually happened, but he’d definitely make her believe he was genuine beforehand.

Draco leaned closer and so did Hermione. The distance between them shrunk, but neither force yielded to the other. In an instant, the remaining space had vanished and their lips were pressed firmly together. It only lasted a few seconds, but the effect was profound.

The two pulled away in unison, staring open-mouthed at one another. Before Hermione could fully process the brief kiss, Draco’s lips had descended upon her’s once again. This time she wasn’t prepared in the slightest and sat there in a state of shock for a moment. Her mind raced to catch up to the situation. Her first thought was.  _ What the hell! _ Her second thought was.  _ He’s a great kisser. _

She felt him bite at her lip and she gasped, opening her mouth instinctively. His tongue slid into her mouth, and his arms wrapped securely around her. Hermione leaned forward into his warmth. It was intoxicating. Any rational thought went out the window and her mind choose to focus on one thing: Draco Malfoy.

Hermione found herself pressed into the grass, hands fisted into Draco’s shirt. The kisses were passionate and fulfilling in a way Hermione had never experienced, and ultimately had her questioning every thought she’d had toward the boy currently on top of her. Were they enemies? Did she really despise him? Or,.....was there more? Something that her own rage had blinded her to.

Ron was always saying she thought too much. Maybe, she should take a page from his book, and not overthink this. She should just enjoy the moment.

Hermione began to kiss Draco back in earnest and she heard him groan in response. The two kissed until they were breathless, and only then, did they separate gasping for air. Draco rolled off Hermione and onto the grass beside her. They laid silently for a few minutes.

“...Well, Granger that…..” Draco trailed off because he really wasn’t sure what to say.

“Uh, yeah…” Hermione said. She sat up and looked over to him. “This wasn’t….” She paused, trying to find the right words. “I don’t normally do this.”

“Neither do I,” Draco said. Hermione gave him a look of disbelief, that honestly made him feel flattered. He may have a reputation, but it wasn’t for randomly snogging fellow classmates. Draco gracefully stood and walked toward the exit of the tree canopy. Hermione felt her heart unexpectedly sink. He turned as he parted the leaves. “But, you know, I’m thinking I like visiting  _ my _ hideout this time of day, maybe I’ll be back tomorrow.” Without another word, Draco winked at her, turned and left.

Hermione stared after him in disbelief. He….they….she half screeched and slammed a fist into the ground beneath her. What was wrong with her? She had just made out with Draco Malfoy! He’s annoying, and a nuisance, and rotten. Although, he was handsome, and her only true rival in regards to highest marks.

This….situation needed more thought. Or, Hermione thought alternatively, she could treat this not as a completely absurd and bizarre situation that never should have happened, and more as a…..scientific experiment. And, if she wanted to treat it as such, she’d need further data. Draco would return tomorrow and Hermione resolved to join him. If for no other reason than…...data collection.


End file.
